Thomson

It’s a heck of a way to run a pre-election campaign. On the eve of an expected election, politicians usually spend their time playing up good news, downplaying the bad, shaking hands and kissing babies.

Eco stars shine at Emerald Awards gala

Province’s best and brightest recognized for environmental initiatives

Carbon farmers Brad and Rebecca Rabiey with Minister of Environment Diana McQueen. The Rabieys won the Small Business Award.

Photograph by: Shaughn Butts
, Edmonton Journal

A teen scientist with a penchant for mushrooms, a pair of sustainability-minded tree farmers and a popular music festival were among the green heroes celebrated Thursday at the 2013 Emerald Awards ceremony, which took place at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton.

Mayor Stephen Mandel and Diana McQueen, provincial environment and sustainable resource development minister, were among the presenters in front of a packed and enthusiastic theatre.

Mandel declared June 6 Emerald Day in Edmonton in honour of the event, to loud cheers from the crowd.

Kelcie Miller-Anderson, 18, was the recipient in the youth category of the provincewide awards, given out annually by the Alberta Emerald Foundation in recognition of innovations in environmental stewardship. Miller-Anderson won for her research into using oyster mushrooms to remediate tailings ponds waste created by the oilsands. The first-year U of A student grew up in Calgary.

Peace River entrepreneurs Brad and Rebecca Rabiey won in the small business category with their grassroots agricultural company, The Carbon Farmer. The afforestation business sells carbon credits and plants native tree species for customers as a means of combating climate change and creating long-term habitat for wildlife.

The Calgary Folk Music Festival was one of two recipients in the non-profit category for its environmental initiatives, including complimentary bike parking, beer-cup composting, wind-powered stages and passive heating and cooling systems. The other recipient was the Edmonton & Area Land Trust for its land conservation efforts. In less than five years, the new conservancy has secured 1,000 acres of healthy ecosystems within a 100-km radius of Edmonton.

For more than 20 years, the Alberta Emerald Foundation has given out the awards to celebrate and inspire environmental excellence in this province. There were 32 finalists in 11 categories, including youth, non-profits, individuals, business and government.

Road Watch in the Pass leaders Rob and Loretta Schaufele won the community group award for their efforts to reduce roadkill and heighten public awareness about wildlife along Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass region south of Calgary.

The large business category had two recipients: London Drugs Limited, for its “What’s the Green Deal?” recycling program for customers and staff, and DMI (Peace River Pulp Division), for its Nutriboost program, in which biosolids from the pulp mill’s treatment process are applied to farm fields to boost agricultural productivity and eliminate the need for commercial fertilizers.

There were also two winners in the individual commitment category: Calgarian Michael J. Mappin and Lethbridge resident Dory Rossiter. Mappin has been stationed at the University of Calgary’s Kananaskis Field Station (now known as the Biogeoscience Institute) for decades and is widely respected for his field-based education programs that enhance ecological understanding. Rossiter, who works for CTV Lethbridge as a weather specialist and reporter, was chosen for all the events and campaigns she has organized in support of environmental issues.

Emma Gilbertson, Deb Greiner and Antonella Bell, who are outdoor educators at the Devonian Botanical Gardens, won the school education award for their Green School and Kids in the Garden programs. Some 30,000 children have participated in the daily or weeklong nature experiences.

And the Edmonton-based Montane Elk Project, which devotes itself to mitigating the effects of energy development on elk in southwest Alberta, won in the shared footprint category.

The Alberta Department of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development was recipient of the government institution award for its Wet Areas Mapping Initiative. And the award for public education outreach went to Inside Education for its teacher professional development programs.

Water was the focus of this year’s Emerald Challenge Award, which went to Shirley Pickering of High River, a board member of the Oldman Watershed Council, for her leadership in progressive water management and stewardship.

The Alberta Emerald Foundation was established by Ralph Klein, when he was minister of environment, as a partnership between McLennan Ross LLP, Deloitte & Touche Chartered Accountants and Alberta Environment. In the years since, it has evolved on several fronts, although the Emerald Awards is still the only program in Canada that recognizes such a broad range of recipients.

The awards program is funded in equal measure by the government of Alberta, the Alberta Beverage Containers Recycling Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Enbridge, Encana and Syncrude.

A 10-member panel of judges drawn from industry, corporations and community selects the winners.

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